Sports ramblings…with a Yankees bias!

A Day in New York City…

Last week, I had the good fortune to travel to New
York on business.I delayed my return
home until Sunday so that I’d have a day to spend in the city…

There were really only two things that I really
wanted to do.One was to attend the New
York City Marathon Expo that was being held at the Jacob Javits Center on
Saturday, November 6th.The
other was to have dinner in Greenwich Village.

So, with some thought the night before, I embarked
on my journey when Saturday arrived.First, I started the day by running on the hotel treadmill.8 miles on a treadmill can be a long, long
experience, but it gave me some time to think about what I wanted to do.After my run, I got ready and headed out the
door.

The first destination was to find H&H Bagels on
46th Street and 12th Avenue.I’ve been to other H&H Bagels locations
but I had not found this one before.H&H Bagels has been featured on several TV shows, like Sex in the
City and Seinfeld, but, seriously, their bagels are tremendous.They’ve always been very fresh and
delicious.I have even gone as far as to
order two dozen bagels from H&H for shipment to California.

For this day, I purchased a blueberry bagel and a
bottle of orange juice.I walked over to
a nearby bench in close proximity to the USS Intrepid and enjoyed the bounty
from H&H Bagels.It was well worth
the trip!

Next, I walked down to the Jacob Javits Center for
the ING New York City Marathon Expo.I
am a runner and although I’ve only run one marathon (2008 NYC Marathon), I do
have the ambition to run more.I had
intended to run in the 2009 NYC Marathon but a stress fracture in my leg forced
a hiatus from running that cost me to withdraw from both the San Francisco and
New York Marathons.2010 has been about
trying to get back into running and I decided that I’d avoid trying a marathon
this year, however, 2011 is a different story.I’ve already registered for the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon which will be
held on March 20, 2011.Still, the NYC
Marathon was such an incredible experience, it is something that I do want to
experience again.

LA has a good route for their marathon.It starts with a run around Dodger Stadium,
heads through Hollywood and Beverly Hills and makes it way to Santa Monica and
the Pacific Ocean.I love that area, so
it will be a fun experience.But nothing
compares to New York.The marathon
starts in Staten Island and eventually makes its way through all five boroughs
before finishing in Central Park.To run
for 26.2 miles with New York crowds cheering you on for every step of the way
is phenomenal.Coming off the Queensboro
Bridge into Manhattan was probably one of my favorite spots.Well, the finish line was a welcome sight
too!

Well, back to the Expo.I wanted to experience the marathon through
the Expo and did find a good running t-shirt and a back pack.However, I found that I was so envious of the
runners who had their entry packets in hand.I definitely was wishing that I had been able to run this year’s
marathon.I walked the Expo for several
hours and then bought a sandwich for lunch.

Next, I did something that I’ve wanted to do for a
very long time.For all my trips to New
York, I’ve never gone to visit the grave of my idol, Lou Gehrig.Finally, I decided that today was the
day.So with just having the name of the
cemetery and name of the town, I hopped on the subway to Grand Central Station
and caught the Metro North Railroad Harlem Line to Valhalla, NY.From there, I walked a little under a mile to
the Kensico Cemetery.After walked the
cemetery and getting directions from other visitors, I found the grave.I was a bit surprised at how modest the
headstone was and for all I know about Lou, I didn’t know about the “typo” on
his headstone.The year of his birth is
erroneously shown as 1905 (he was born in 1903).But for as modest as the headstone was, the
location was so serene.I thought it was
the perfect place for burial and given its close proximity to Manhattan, I was
overtaken by the charm of the quaint, quiet town of Valhalla.Lou and Eleanor truly could not have picked a
better place to spend eternity.I sat at
the grave for awhile and just thought about the images of Lou that I’ve seen
and thought about what it must have been like to have watched him play
firsthand.

After leaving the cemetery, I had an hour to kill
before the train to Manhattan arrived.By the train stop, there is a great restaurant/bar called The Valhalla
Crossing.It is inside an old train
station, and the ambiance of the establishment was first class,The service was probably one of the best I’ve
ever experienced.I could have stayed
there all night.

Heading back to Manhattan, there was just one more
thing on my to-do list.Dinner in
Greenwich Village.I took the train back
to Grand Central and then caught the Subway down to Greenwich Village.I did not have a particular restaurant in
mind (well, I had a couple but for this trip, I wanted to be open-minded).As I worked my way through Greenwich Village,
I stopped at my favorite coffee spot, the Porto Rico Importing Company at 201
Bleecker Street.It is the best way to
find coffee beans by the pound.When I
lived in Delaware, I would make a trip for no other reason than to go to Porto
Rico.Highly recommended.

As I continued my walk down Bleecker Street, I came
to Cornelia Street and remembered a Greenwich Village tour I had taken several
years ago.One of the stops was the
Cornelia Street Café.I remember
thinking at the time that it was someplace I’d like to have dinner.On this night, I thought my plan would be
rebuffed when the waiter asked me if I had reservations.Fortunately, there was a seat at the bar, so
I gladly accepted my option and had a great meal.It was fun listening to the couple next to me
talking about how their son would be running the New York City Marathon the
next day.It kind of brought the day
full circle.

It was an incredibly enjoyable day in the city of
New York.The only thing better would
have been a 28th World Championship by the Yankees.Oh well, throw mega millions at Cliff Lee and
let’s crank up this machine for 2011!

By the way, I registered for the lottery for entry to the 2011 ING New York City Marathon! Wish me luck!

Fingers are crossed for the lottery today Scott!!! I know we talked about this over the weekend – but being able to spend time at Lou Gehrig’s grave site must have been an amazing experience….I’m glad you took the opportunity. Often the days without agendas are the best….

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